★ Sudden visit to Hambantota

I made a sudden visit to Hambantota town to participate for a funeral. The area Hambantota  provides refuges to large number of fauna & flora. I was lucky enough to see few peacocks & phenons in the jungle.

To get more information you can visit website  http://www.dmc.gov.lk/DistrictSection/Hambanthota/hambanthoata.htm

★ The Pilgrimage to Anuradhapura

Date : 11/12 August 2012

My grandmother wants to visit ”Atamasthana” or eight sacred places and this time I went to Anuradapura with my family. This was quick visit & two days and one night trip. We were stayed at the forest department holiday bungalow in Anuradapura close to “Mirisavatiya Dagaba” and it was a good place. We found the facilities to be clean, and the maid service was good.

The sacred places are known as

• Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya
• Ruwanwelisaya
• Thuparama
• Lovamahapaya
• Abhayagiri Dagaba
• Jetavanarama
• Mirisaveti Stupa
• Lankarama.

They are situated in Anuradhapura, the capital of the ancient Anuradhapura Kingdom. 

To get more information you can visit website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atamasthana

We have visited few other historical places too. Those are Isurumuniya, Ranmasu Uyana, Samadhi Statue and Moonstone.

We also visited Nellikulama Temple. There are statues of 500 arahat Buddhist monks walking behind the Buddha. Project is not finished yet and the temple 5 miles away from Anuradhapura.

Ranmasu Uyana - Goldfish Park & mysterious Sakwala Chakraya (Star Gate)




On our way back home, we visited Yapahuwa.

Yapahuwa

The history of Yapahuwa ancient city located in the Kurunegala District close to Mahava, extends up to 3rd century BCE. King Devanampiyathissa planted 32 fruits from the Sri Maha Bodhi in different places and Yapahuwa is one of them. During the 13th century, when the invader Kalinga Maga was ruling a part of Sri Lanka, a general named Subha had built a fortress at Yapahuwa and he was engaged in protecting that area and Buddhism.  From 1270 to 1272 CE, King Vijayabahu - 1V rules the country and he build a rampart wall round the city and constructed a beautiful palace for King Vijayabahu to live there. It is this prince who made Yapahuwa the capital city of Sri Lanka having ascended the throne as King Buvanakebahu. He built a rampartwall round the city and constructed a beautiful palace for King Vijayabahu to live there. The most attractive construction is the staircase which has been enriched by the beautiful carvings and other architectural features.

Source : Extracted 

★ First Vacation of the Year !!! (Trip to Belihuloya & many other places)

I just returned from my trip to Belihuloya with a few of my family members. This was my first vacation for this year. Rather than post a quick snippet of how awesome the trip was I thought I would write this post in a day-by-day fashion. So here goes:

Day 1 – May 6th

We started the journey from Makola around 5.00AM and we used Kaduwela – Rathnapura route. Belihuloya is about 140km from Makola to Kosgoda and then on A4 route, a 3-4hrs drive. While we were passing Rathnapura we decided to have our breakfast near peaceful area. We reached our relative's house at around 10 AM and we decided to stay overnight. From there we went to see Bambarakanda Waterfalls.

Bambarakanda Waterfall

Route: From Belihuloya to Kalupahana Junction (about 14 km) and then took a left turn towards the Bamabarakanda. After proceeding about 4.5 km we had the 1st sight of the Bambarakanda fall at a distance.

Bambarakanda waterfall is highest waterfall of Sri Lanka and which is situated at Haldumulla Electorate of Badulla district. The waterfall is high about 241meters. Water comes to this fall from Horton plains and then this water goes to Samanala wawa. After via Valawe River this water goes to sea.

Then we visited another relative’s house in Kalupahana and enjoyed our lunch there. In the evening we visited Samanalawewa Reservoir

Samanalawewa Dam/ Reservoir

The Samanalawewa Dam is a dam that is primarily used for hydroelectric power generation in Sri Lanka. Commissioned in 1992, the Samanalawewa project is the second-largest hydroelectric scheme in the country, producing 405 GWh of energy annually. It was built with financial support from Japan and the United Kingdom. It is notable for a large leak on its right bank. Power production continues as planned despite the leakage, and the water from the leak now provides two thirds of the water issued by the reservoir for agriculture in downstream areas. 

Main entrance of Samanala Wewa is at Belihuloya and Pambahinna

Day 2 – May 7th

On our second day of the trip, we went to see the famous Adisham Bungalow.

Adisham Bungalow

Adisham Bungalow is a nineteenth century British period building, which was modeled on Leeds Castle in Kent, England. Sir Thomas Lister, a distinguished British resident in Sri Lanka in the early 20th century, used it as his country house. Later it became Benedictine. The famous Thangamale Bird Sanctuary is adjoined to it. (Extracted)

Then we went to see the Diyaluma Waterfall.

Diyaluma Water Falls

Diyaluma water falls' is 220m high and the second highest waterfall in Sri Lanka and 361st highest waterfall in the world. It is situated 6 km away from Koslanda in Badulla District on Colombo-Badulla highway. The Falls are formed by Punagala Oya, a tributary of Kuda Oya which in turn, is a tributary of Kirindi Oya. Visit Diyaluma is very easy because Diyaluma waterfall is at main road.  

On our way back to Belihuloya from Koslanda we saw Surathalee Ella at Halpe. (167th Kilometer post)

Surathalee Waterfalls

Some people do not even take their trash with them and throw to the environment and it is sad to notice that kind of pollution in a beautiful place like this.

After having evening tea from Belihuloya we leave for Home. In all it was an awesome vacation.